Some contrasts

Sometime over the past day or two the sheep have moved on and the field they were in looks like it was mowed. Apparently around here people invite the berger to bring the sheep to their property so that the weeds and wild grass get trimmed and it provides the perfect spot for the sheep to graze on their way to the mountains. In the evening on our porch we could hear the sheep bells dinging over the fields and the dogs would occasionally bark. It was nice to sit outside and listen.

JC and I know where to recycle glass and paper in Venasque.

We took a load of bottles and paper over there one day and I took some more photos of the very silent streets. This is the cliff the village is built on...

 Already there were more leaves and buds to be seen and most of the cherry trees were in bloom. I love the tender green of the new leaves it is such a pretty contrast with the stone cliffs.

On Tuesday after our exercise class (here is the view from the window of the salle in which we workout)

we had an errand to do...Thursday will be Maya's 6th birthday and JC and I went over to Le Pontet (site of a huge shopping center) just on the outskirts of Avignon to check out bikes in this store.

I think it is the French version of REI but check out the inside of this place!!

It is a humongous super market of sports items and not just a few. I felt like we almost needed a map to find what we were looking for. Each section has specific items for that particular sport. Sort of a Powell's Books for sports!! You almost forget what you need when you are in there.

 Enfin...les vélos!!!

Driving over to Decathlon you go through the countryside and from the car window I took some pictures of the fields of yellow mustard which had just begun to bloom...almost Van Gogh wouldn't you say??

As we drove along this is what came on the radio...;-)))

Whenever I walk along the streets in Carpentras there is always something new that pops up. I had never noticed this interesting sundial on the side of this building before. Gives the months and the time too I think.

Also...the cathedral has been given a clean up so it is bright and glowing too.

Some of the shop names appeal to me like this candy store...the name is a play on words that sound the same as something else. These words sound the same as Love..."Desire of things to eat" OR "Desire to be in love"...I think both phrases could apply to chocolate (which is actually the specialty of this shop).

I also like this shop for house linens and those kinds of items.

Here are some new fashion items in a very upscale (expensive) shop in Carpentras.

The bright yellow is showing up everywhere this year along with some other very strong, bright colors. See my black legs in the photo above???

A few more photos here of our drive over to Joucas. The little streets are very enjoyable to walk through and it was so warm and cozy it was really nice to feel warm!!

The Mistral has stopped hanging around now...someone we spoke to at the market said that there were 10 days of Mistral in March which really is a lot especially when you are outside!!

We took Maya to see a play on Tuesday and I will write more about that in another post but the added treat for me was to get to hold Oscar and have him give me a look!!!

That was great. I think he looks a lot like his papa at the same age! Then big sister Maya got to give him his bottle and he was really focused on her! So sweet.

Here are some new signs of spring and the first wild poppies growing along the sides of the road.

Bonne journée!!